Beanz1927

Dozey

The only things I can think of would be to remove any charcoal from the filter and give the media a rinse in tank water. That should do it.

fishlover78

yep, what Dozey said

fishylp

I too have recently cycled and tank and got on here today to ask what to do with the filter. I have a Top Fin 30. From everything I've read, I have determined to take out the carbon and would like to replace it.

A lot of people mention "floss", but what is floss? Can someone please give me a link? Also, how often should a filter media be changed?

Dozey

You don't need to replace the carbon. Generally the only time you will need carbon in your filter is when you are trying to remove medications from your tank's water.

Some filters use sponges for filtration while others use floss or a combination of both. Ideally you should never replace the filter media unless it is falling apart. Rinsing the media in tank water is all you need to do. And that’s not to say you clean it in the tank but rather in a bucket of tank water collected during a water change that you intend to dispose of.

dancerhas

Floss is just the soft woven material that catches debris, and is home to the nitrifying bacteria. As far as rinsing it, I'd probably say you should do it regularly (once a month ish) because once dirt/poop builds up to a certain degree it becomes more like packed mud and is REALLY hard to rinse out. If that happens the filter floss will actually block the flow and your water could overflow (depending on your filter design) back into your tank and won't actually cycle through your filter. Having a filter doesn't do you much good if the water isn't actually going THROUGH it.

-B

Beanz1927

Thanks for the help
{~Owen~}